On April 4, I had the privilege of conducting a phone interview with Zak Appleby, the bassist of Houndmouth. Based out of New Albany, Indiana, Houndmouth is a folk Americana band. They are about to embark on a nationwide tour supporting their second studio album “Little Neon Limelight.”
Houndmouth is comprised of Appleby, Matt Myers and Shane Cody, all natives of the New Albany and Louisville areas. Appleby and Matt met because they were in the same high school and cover band. Until very recently, Katie Toupin was also part of the band, but according to their website, on April 8 Houndmouth announced that she had left.
Houndmouth has been touring extensively for the last year, at concerts and larger festivals such as Bonnaroo and Lollapalooza. Appleby said that the events had their pros and cons.
“Intimate shows are my favorite,” said Appleby. But at festivals he “gets to see a lot of people [and] meet cool bands” such as Grace Potter, who Appleby met and would love to work with in the future. Newport Folk Festival is one of Appleby’s favorite festivals, although the hometown Forecastle Festival holds a special place in his heart. It is “a bit stressful” Appleby admitted.
This constant touring has brought Houndmouth to a lot of cool places. When I called Appleby, he was relaxing poolside for a week-long break in Hawaii after a stint of shows in Australia and New Zealand.
Houndmouth’s most popular song at the moment is “Sedona,” an ode to the Arizona City. Appleby said he was surprised and super excited by its success. He loved recording it but is surprised that he’d be playing it so much. His favourite song that Houndmouth has recorded is an early song of theirs titled “Town Myer.” Beyond indie-folk records, Appleby has also been “experimenting” with new music and has really been into the new Kendrick Lamar record.
Beyond embarking on their tour, Houndmouth say that they will hopefully start recording a new album in the late summer or early fall. The tour will stop here in Philadelphia Friday, April 22 at Union Transfer. Tickets are available at both Union Transfer and Houndmouth’s websites.
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